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| Protesters calling for President Park Geun-hye's resignation because of her alleged involvement in helping her longtime confidant Choi Soon-sil meddle in state affairs have packed Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Nov. 26. / Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan, Choi Ha-young
Braving the wet snow and cold wind, some 1.9 million protesters gathered across the nation to demand President Park Geun-hye's resignation, with 1.5 million at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul alone, Saturday.
The national wave, a record number protesters since the anti-Park demonstrations began in late October, came while parliament is in the process of impeaching the President after prosecutors determined that she is an accomplice in the influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving her longtime confidant Choi Soon-sil.
As the opposition parties are planning to put the impeachment motion up for a vote in early December, police said around 1,500 civic groups have organized a massive rally around Gwanghwamun Square.
The protesters marched 200 meters from the presidential house Cheong Wa Dae, holding banners that said "Arrest President Park" and "Surrender Now."
"I am so agitated by the President right now that I do not want to go home now," a middle-aged woman participating in the Gwanghwamun protest said. "The President had promised to boost the stock prices so I had invested there a lot, only to a huge loss. The economy seems to be at all-stop and I cannot sleep. We housewives are careful even when deciding whether to buy one more cabbage or a pound of meat. But the President gave trillions of won to Choi. I feel sad for all teenagers, while angry at those who had voted for Park."
"I have always taught kids about importance of honesty and democracy but now I cannot do it," said Kwon In-taek, a middle school teacher from South Chungcheong Province and another Gwanghwamun Square protester. "One of my students made a video of the President riding a swing named Soon-sil for his video-making homework. So I praised him. I hope the President resign today. My school no longer prevents students from going to protests."
"This is my first time participating in a rally," said Chang Hae-jin, an 18-year-old who took the national College Scholastic Aptitude Test earlier this month. "When I was studying for the exam, I was sorry because I could not do anything. Park needs to speak to the people and should not hide like this."
Organizers, joined together many and diverse groups including teenagers, university students, professors and even lawyers, had previously planned to hold the rally near Cheong Wa Dae later in the evening, but the court banned the move and only allowed the protesters to stay in the area until 5:30 p.m. citing safety issues.
While previous Gwanghwamun protests that were held on every Saturday from late October ended peacefully, police said they will deploy some 25,000 officers for emergencies.
At 8 p.m., anti-Park protesters on the streets of cities and towns across the nation turned off the lights on mobile devices and inside buildings for one minute, while those who were driving honked, to express their unity.
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| Anti-Park protesters present with mannequins of train station officers who "lost their necks while waiting for President Park Geun-hye to resign" at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Nov. 26. / Yonhap |
In Daegu, the birthplace of the President, some 20,000 protesters gathered as of 6 p.m. to demand her resignation. People from 71 local civic groups joined in the fourth massive rally in Daegu despite the steady rain. The congregation was larger by 5,000 than those who attended the last demonstration on Nov. 19.
The city also saw some 3,000 supporters of the President holding a rally against the anti-Park protesters at 1 p.m. but, according to reports, there were no physical clashes between the two groups.
In Busan, some 100,000 anti-Park protesters gathered at Seomyeon where a massive rally began at 7:30 p.m. Police dispatched 1,000 officers to the site, which saw 50,000 protesters the last week. The protesters began a parade on the city streets at 9:30 p.m.
Some 50,000 gathered at Geumnam-ro in Gwangju by 6 p.m., while Doonsan-dong in Daejeon saw 15,000 and 12 districts in South Gyeongsang Province saw 14,000 protesters, calling for the President's resignation.
Jeju Island saw the region's sixth anti-Park rally on Saturday, where 3,000 protesters gathered by 6:40 p.m. The rally at the nation's tourism hotspot will stretch on until late night, inviting musicians to hold concerts starting 8 p.m.
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| A folklore dancer heats up the atmosphere among anti-Park protesters who gathered at Naeja-dong traffic circle, just a few hundred of meters from the presidential house Cheong Wa Dae. / Yonhap |
The Gwanghwamun rally marks the fifth massive anti-Park demonstration in Seoul after the outbreak of the scandal in which the dealings of Choi, who is suspected of meddling in state affairs in business, cultural and sports activities, was brought to light.
Gallup Korea reported that Park's approval rating fell to a record-low level of 4 percent this week.
Lawmakers from the opposition parties have joined the movement, urging the ruling Saenuri Party to agree with the impeachment motion.
"Saenuri must promptly go along with the impeachment move that the three opposition parties are pushing forward," said Rep. Choo Mi-ae, head of the main opposition Democratic Party.
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| Kim Han-gil (second from left on front row), a political heavyweight and the minor opposition People's Party's former election committee co-leader, and his wife, and actress Choi Myung-gil (second from right) joined the anti-Park protest on Nov. 26. / Yonhap |
Prosecutors maintain that Park was complicit in the scandal, which led opposition parties to seek the President's impeachment. Democratic Party said it will put the motion up for a vote no later than Dec. 9.Park's attorney, however, rejected the results of the prosecution's investigation, claiming that prosecutors did not show "fairness and credibility."
Cheong Wa Dae also lambasted the prosecutors' allegations, claiming it is based on wishful thinking with no basis in fact.
Meanwhile, a group of Park supporters gathered at Seoul Station earlier Saturday to protest the anti-Park demonstration. One of their banners read, "Impeaching Park would make Korea a communist country."
"Park's father, Park Chung-hee, modernized our country. Previous administrations had only focused on helping North Korea," said Lee Kae-yong, an 80-year-old participant at the gathering, Yonhap reported. Further, he said, "It is deep in Korean culture to repay debts. We need to protect Park considering what her father did for our country."
As the previous rallies ended without any clashes, organizers of Saturday's protest urged for peace.
